Tolstoy's spirit returns to ancient lands: James Meek finds the power that Count Leo Tolstoy still holds over Russia's soul beating strongly in the heart of the novelist's great great grandson - the new director of his old estate, Yasnaya Polyana

Is Tolstoy Alive? Vladimir Tolstoy in conversation with James Meek Monday 19 April, 6.30pm at Waterstones Piccadilly* Vladimir Tolstoy is the great great grandson of one of the biggest Russian writers – Leo Tolstoy. Since 1994 he has been the director of the Leo Tolstoy museum in Yasnaya Polyana. Vladimir is often seen as the official representative of Leo Tolstoy’s cultural heritage. In 2001 he made a famous appeal to the Russian Orthodox Church, petitioning the repeal of the excommunication of his famous ancestor – a historical event that in Vladimir Tolstoy’s view turned out to have a fatal effect on the whole of Russian society. Under Vladimir Tolstoy’s guidance Yasnaya Polyana has been set up not only as a museum documenting Leo Tolstoy’s life and literary work, but also as a place to keep the spirit of the great writer alive. Writers and intellectuals are regularly invited to take part in seminars and discuss the fundamental questions of life that for the great Russian writer were of such high importance. The museum also runs its own publishing house and offers translation grants to support new translations of Leo Tolstoy’s books. James Meek is a writer, critic and reporter living in London. He is the author of four novels and two collections of short stories. Between 1991 and 1999 he lived in Ukraine and Russia, where his 2005 novel The People's Act of Love was set. In 1994 he visited Vladimir Tolstoy at the ancestral Tolstoy estate in Yasnaya Polyana. His most recent book, We Are Now Beginning Our Descent, was awarded the Prince Maurice Prize. * Tickets to this event are £3, redeemable against purchase of any book. Call Waterstones Piccadilly on 020 7851 2400 to book tickets in advance

6 June
£110 / £165 (with dining)
This year, the 14th Russian Summer Ball will be held in London's historical and exclusive venue the Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace. With complimentary Ballroom drinks all night, breakfast canapés and ballroom dancing to The Coldstream Guards. Proceeds from the event will benefit The Romanov Fund for Russia.

by Tolstoy
Translated by Andrew Bromfield
HarperCollins; 2007; pp.885
War and Peace centers broadly on Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the best-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves behind his family to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman, who intrigues both men.

by Tolstoy
Translated Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
Vintage Classics; 2007; pp. 1215
War and Peace is one of the richest novels ever written. Tolstoy’s enthralling epic combines history and fiction in his depiction of Russia’s lengthy war with the French armies of Napoleon and its effects on the domestic lives of those caught up in the conflict.

The Seductions of Europe
Prince Yusupov and his Arkhangelskoe
This issue is dedicated to Prince Nikolai Yusupov and his magnificent estate Arkhangelskoe near Moscow. Prince Yusupov was one of the outstanding figures of the Age of Enlightenment.

The Seductions of Europe
Prince Yusupov and his Arkhangelskoe
This issue is dedicated to Prince Nikolai Yusupov and his magnificent estate Arkhangelskoe near Moscow. Prince Yusupov was one of the outstanding figures of the Age of Enlightenment.

19-20 April
Apollo Cinema, Piccadilly
Screenings of films based on Russian literature
With English subtitles